As the country tries works to pull itself from a recession, a study released today found that more private investment in minority–owned firms will help the long-term economic health of the country.

The research found that firms that received private equity investment were able to hire more people, had higher rates of revenue growth, paid higher wages and were more likely to be able to provide employees with health insurance.

The study, which looked at the impact of private investments on seven minority firms, was released by the National Association of Investment Companies in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group.

The financial health of minority-owned businesses and those that cater to minorities only becomes more crucial as the population becomes more diverse, the study concluded.

Posted by Andrea Walker at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Investments
        

There's more to picking a target-date fund than knowing when you'd like to retire, advises Eileen Ambrose in her Sunday personal finance column.

Target-date retirement funds are meant to help people too busy to select their own investments. In a nutshell, most guidelines suggest putting your retirement money into more volatile options like stocks early on and then gradually moving into more conservative alternatives such as bonds as you get older.

With target-date funds, the fund managers make that shift automatically, so investors have fewer decisions to make.

However, Eileen points out that you still have to monitor where that money is going. Look at the prospectus to ensure the fund's investment strategy matches your own risk tolerance, whether you're pretty conservative or if you enjoy the thrill of the market's ups and downs.

Also, don't overlook the fees charged by these funds. Remember: there's a price for convenience, which is valuable. By investing in a target-date fund, you're paying for a fund manager's expertise.

Continue reading "Target-date funds & Lake Montebello restrooms: Consumer Sundays" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 9:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments, Personal finance, Retirement, Watchdog
        

Sorry folks: somehow this didn't post yesterday as I planned. Enjoy this morning!

We usually like to post Consumer Web Site of the Week a little earlier, but it's been a busy news day. So, here's a late afternoon toy to fool with that's only slightly less depressing than checking out your retirement investment losses.

Yesterday the New York Times posted a "comeback calculator" that allows you to figure out how long it will take for your retirement accounts return to their pre-recession levels. It will also tell you how much you'll have in retirement, but any run-of-the-mill calculator can do that!

Just plug in your previous balance, your current balance and your annual contributions, and let the calculator do the rest. Adjust the rate of return for optimistic outlooks and drearier ones.

Yes, we'll be working for a long, long time. 

Posted by Liz Kay at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Budgeting, Investments, Retirement
        

Since Barack Obama became president, the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen about 2 percent. Of course, he has a lot of time left in office to recover lost ground.

To see how other recent presidents fared, the folks at DJ Wishire 5000 index ran the numbers. The number for W’s second terms is as of Jan. 16. The results:

Annualized Total Return DJ Wilshire 5000

Ronald Reagan First Term: 12.1% Second Term: 16.1% Total: 14.1%

George H.W. Bush First and Only Term 14.5%

Bill Clinton First Term: 17.7% Second Term: 13.5% Total: 15.6%

George W. Bush First Term: 1.0% Second Term: -5.5% Total: -2.3%

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Investments
        

If your child's 529 plan investments took a nosedive last year, you'll have an additional chance to consider switching things up a bit, Excellent Eileen told us Sunday.

Usually you can make changes only once a year to a 529 plan, but this year investors will have two opportunities. Eileen warns, however, that just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

You might "lock in your losses" if you switch to less volatile, more conservative options and the market bounces back, she points out.

Whether you should make changes will depend largely on your child's age.

If you have a younger child, you have the time to ride the ups and downs of a fairly aggressive stock portfolio. And stocks still manage to provide the best returns over the long haul.

The difficult choice will be for families whose children are a year or two from college. Do you stay put with your investments, or not?

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: a 2nd chance to change 529 plan investments and testing Comcast customer service" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Budgeting, Cable/Satellite/TV/Comcast/FiOS, College/Financial aid, Investments, Warranties
        

If you've taken some time to review your financial picture this week and found not-too-pleasant results, you might want to take a look at Eileen's Sunday column, full of reassuring words about the economy from investment professionals across the country.

The comfort sometimes takes the form of a history lesson, or quotations from wise people --- and smart investors --- but also, there's some tough talk about expectations and realities as we go forward. 

And Sunday's Watchdog, about a traffic signal in East Baltimore that's been holding up drivers near the Baltimore County line, reveals an unfortunate reality about this feature in our paper: 

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: comforting words about the financial markets and traffic signals tying up traffic" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments, Watchdog
        

As time runs out, readers have asked whether Congress has gotten around to giving them some relief on required IRA distributions.

These are withdrawals that investors must make annually after turning 70½.

The problem: withdrawals are determined on the size of the account at the end of the previous year.

A year ago, the market was a lot higher and hotter than today. The result is that older investors could end up now having to take out more from their accounts than they want, and selling stocks in one of the most bearish markets.

With just a few weeks left to the year, Maryland congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger says he plans to introduce legislation — Retirement Fairness and Emergency Relief Act of 2008, H.R. 7278 — that will suspend mandatory withdrawals.

The legislation would also allow younger investors to pull money out of retirement accounts to pay rent, the mortgage, utilities or groceries without incurring a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty.

Ruppersberger is holding a press conference on Monday to talk about his legislation.

It’s not clear yet what relief there would be for older investors who already have taken distributions.

Also, there has been criticism that relief from mandatory IRA distributions helps high-income seniors who don’t need to live off their IRA money and can forego distributions for a year or so.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Investments
        

Employers have tried all sorts of ways to get workers to diversify their 401(k) accounts without widespread success.

Now, perhaps coming to a 401(k) near you: Re-enrollment.

Basically, this is a do-over. If you are woefully under-diversified, your employer could re-enroll you in the 401(k), pulling money out of your existing investments and re-investing it in a broader portfolio. You would have the right to opt out of the re-enrollment.

The Vanguard Group says the 2006 Pension Protection Act allows employers to do this. That act encourages employers to automatically enroll workers in a 401(k), provided workers' money is invested properly. So far this year, Vanguard says, a tiny number of the 1,800 plans it manages has adopted re-enrollment.

 You might have already experienced a version of this if your employer replaced some mutual funds in the 401(k). You employer takes your money out of a fund being dropped and reinvests it in a new fund that’s most similar to the old one.

Employers need to consider all the ramifications if they re-enroll workers. For instance, dumping a large chunk of company stock that was sitting in 401(k) accounts could negatively affect the stock price.

Has your employer re-enrolled you this year? If so, what did you think? And if not, how would you feel if your employer stepped in to diversify your account for you?

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 7:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Investments
        

Good morning everyone. How was your weekend?

I spent most of it watching football. My team won so it was a good day. Plus, I got to see that great game between the Steelers and the Chargers. How crazy was the last play with the lateral throws that ended up in a interception and touchdown that wasn't? Final score: Steelers 11, Chargers 10.

I can't remember who told me this, but it's supposed to be the first time there has ever been a final score of 10-11 in NFL history. Whether that's true or not, it was still a cool game.

Speaking of football, I sure hope you spent some time with the paper on Sunday catching up on consumer news. What did you think of Patricia Wynn's plight after she won 102.7 Jack FM's Ultimate SuperBowl Contest? Would you have been as patient? Did you wonder what either of these companies were thinking?

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: Jack FM, dormant trees and open mutual funds" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Complaints, Investments, Watchdog
        

Is it live or is it Memorex? Do you remember those commercials? Are they still on anymore? And if they're not, is that a sign of my age?

Anyhoo, that catchphrase popped into my head when Liz told me she's writing about lots and lots of dead-looking, unplanted trees in Druid Hill Park for Watchdog this weekend. Find out for sure if they're alive or if they're dead on Sunday, and why they're lying all over the park.

I'm going to tell you the sorry tale of Patricia Wynn and the oh-so-fabulous Ultimate SuperBowl Contest prize she won from 102.7 Jack FM earlier this year.

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: Dying trees, Winning for Losing and Mutual Funds" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Complaints, Investments, Watchdog
        

A jolly good morning to everyone out there!

We know the Obamas are set to visit the White House today. Think they'll talk about taxes at all? Eileen gave us a primer yesterday on what we can expect for our taxes and investments under an Obama administration.

How many people plan on selling investments to avoid higher taxes later? Do you think he'll be forced to raise taxes during the recession?

I'm still wondering what Acer was thinking when it figured putting a customer through eight repairs on a high-end laptop was OK? And then replacing the bad laptop with a just-as-bad refurb... only to completely blow Aaron Shepard off when all he asked for was a refund of the money he spent shipping his laptop back multiple times for repair.

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: Bad laptops, Barriers and Barack Obama's tax plans" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Complaints, Computers, Economy, Investments, Taxes, Watchdog
        

HMIF! Holy Moly It's Friday! Whew. Finally. Happy Friday people!

Now that the elections are over, the whole country is waiting to see what happens next. I keep telling Eileen to use her Magic 8 Ball to guide us, but she says it keeps saying, "Ask Again Later."

So for her Sunday personal finance column, Eileen's just going to rely on experts to tell you what investors can expect under a Barack Obama presidency.

Remember that dude who drove his SUV into the Inner Harbor last week?

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: Barriers, Computer Lemon Laws and Investing under Barack" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Complaints, Computers, Investments, Watchdog
        

Long-term care insurance is a complicated topic.

You can get your questions answered over the phone on a call-in program sponsored by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

Call the toll-free number 877-547-8471 on Nov. 13 and Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m Eastern Time to get free advice about long-term care insurance and long-term care planning.

You can also get free help online at Kiplinger’s Long-Term Care Center.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

What low-risk investment will pay an annualized rate of more than five percent over the next six months? Series I Savings Bonds.

The Bureau of the Public Debt announced today that the new rate on inflation-protected savings bonds will be 5.64 percent, much higher than many other investments that don’t even have government's backing.

I bonds are made up of two interest rates. You earn a fixed rate for the life of the 30-year bond. On top of that, you earn whatever the rate of inflation was the previous six months.

Newly issued bonds as of November through April will carry a fixed rate of 0.70 percent. Additionally, the bonds for six months will return an annualized rate of 4.92 percent.

The inflation rate on these bonds will change in May. So after owning an I-bond for six months, you will earn whatever the new inflation rate is plus the 0.70 percent.

In May, the government lowered the fixed rate on I bonds to zero, and the sales of these bonds in five months dropped 37 percent, compared to a similar period a half year earlier. 

Also, the government today released the new fixed rates on Series EE savings bonds. Buy a EE bond between now and the end of April, and you will earn a fixed rate of 1.3 percent a year. Bonds issued in the past six months carried a fixed rate of 1.4 percent.

To find out more about savings bonds or to buy them directly from the government online, go to the Public Debt’s Website.

If you forget what Eileen told you about I-bonds before, check out her May column after the jump.

Continue reading "A safe investment, good return" »

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

We’re bailing out banks and financial institutions with more than $700 billion in our tax dollars. Will it work?

TrueCredit.com commissioned a poll to gauge how successful consumers think the bailout will be and what changes they are making personally during these recessionary times. The results:

A mere 1 percent of those surveyed were confident the bailout would be highly effective.

Most, or 62 percent, say it might be somewhat effective. TrueCredit didn’t say, but does that mean one-third is pessimistic about the bailout’s prospects?

Meanwhile, the survey found that nearly 70 percent said they have already cut back on spending or plan to do so soon. Three in 10 won’t change their spending habits at all. More than half said the current weak economy will mostly affect their discretionary spending.

About half figured the economy will affect their retirement savings. About one in four thinks they might have trouble getting approved for a loan or mortgage because of the economy.

So, what do you think? Will the bailout save Wall Street and Main Street? And how have you been adjusting to the lackluster economy?

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Investments
        

Some readers disagreed with last week’s blog post about whether a Republican or Democratic president is better for your investments or argued that the president has less influence than Congress on the markets.

A survey by Edward Jones of 1,000 investors, found that more believed a Democrat in the White House would be better. I had also added statistics from the Stock Trader’s Almanac four years ago that found the market did better under a Democratic president going back to 1901.

Readers were right to point out that a president doesn’t act alone. Congress passes the legislation that affects taxes and investments.

Reader Joan Magnani writes: “Since the President has only veto power and it is Congress that makes law, it would be interesting to know which years Congress was dominated by either Republicans or Democrats. Also, some laws show an immediate effect on the economy while other may take years to have an effect. An example would be the mortgage crisis. That did not happen overnight. Tax cuts might have an immediate positive effect, but perhaps not so positive down the road. Do you know which party dominated Congress during which years? I would be interested in knowing.”

I don’t have those stats yet or the latest figures on how the stock market has reacted in the last four years, where half the time the president’s own party controlled Congress and the Democrats controlled it the other half.

Continue reading "Readers vote: Is Obama or McCain better for investments?" »

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

A report from Gus at the Inner Harbor earlier today:

I spoke with Knight Kiplinger, editor in chief of Kiplinger's personal finance magazine, earlier today in downtown Baltimore. He was in town with the "Your Money Bus" -- a roving coach that's going to be touring 60 cities this year, with volunteer financial advisors giving free advice to people. (Kiplinger's magazine is one of the sponsors.)

He had some interesting observations about the current crisis and how it might affect Baltimore. Watch the video of my interview with him.

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Economy, Investments, Personal finance
        

Each voter has his or her own reason for selecting a candidate for president.

Some are loyal to their party. Some weigh a candidate’s stance on all the issues or a single topic like the environment, education, the Iraq war or abortion. And it wasn’t that long ago that many chose the Commander-in-Chief based on which person they wanted to drink a beer with.

But if you had to choose based on which candidate would be better for your investments, then what?

Would you vote for John McCain, who has described himself as “fundamentally a deregulator” and wants to keep the Bush tax cuts? Or would it be Barack Obama, who promises to raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 while cutting taxes for others?

A survey of 1,000 investors commissioned by brokerage Edward Jones found that 41 percent believed a Democrat in the White House would be better for their investments; while 36 percent thought a Republican would help their portfolio.

However, 8 percent preferred neither Democrat or Republican. They can choose among Independents Ralph Nader and Charles O. Baldwin, Libertarian Bob Barr, Green Party Cynthia Ann McKinney and dozens of other aspiring candidates.

The remaining 15 percent of those surevyed wouldn't divulge their presidential pick.

Further parsing of the results found that investors near retirement favor a Republican in the Oval Office by 38 to 33 percent. (Maybe they make more than $250,000 or don't know that Obama plans to do away with income taxes for retirees with incomes of up to $50,000.)

Northerners by a vote of 49 percent to 33 percent were more likely to think a Democrat was better for their portfolio. Westerners agreed, favoring a Dem 44 percent versus 30 percent for Republican. Only Southerners (41 percent vs. 35 percent) expected their investments to do better under a Republican president.

Edward Jones says there was a stark contrast among those earning under $25,000. More than half of them expected to fare better under a Dem; while 28 percent preferred a Republican president for their portfolio.

Statistically, the market performs best when a Democrat sits in the Oval Office. In the last presidential election of 2004, the Stock Trader’s Almanac released these statistics:

Republican presidents have held office for nearly 56 years since 1901; Democrats for 48 years. In that time, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 386.7 percent under Republicans, but gained 639.6 percent under Democrats. And $10,000 invested would have grown to $81,300 under Republicans; $279,705 under Democrats.

Let’s hear your thoughts.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

Investors burned by broker Kevin Forrester will be getting more than $2 million in restitution, says Maryland Attorney General's Office.

The AG's office announced today it resolved the civil and criminal cases against Forrester who was accused of stealing more than $2.2 million from 21 investors.

Forrester told investors between 2003 and early 2007 that he was putting their money in a high-rate, short-term fund. Instead, "the fund was not an actual legitimate security," regulators said. Forrester used the money to buy a $1.2 million home and other luxuries.

As far as the civil case goes, more than $2 million will be set aside for restitution. Part of that will come from personal assets worth $157,000 that Forrester was ordered to sell.

In the criminal case, Forrester yesterday was sentenced in Baltimore County Circuit Court to 15 years for felony theft, with five years suspended, the AG’s office says. He was also sentenced to a three-year concurrent sentence for securities fraud.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

Score one for the little guy.

The state of Maryland won a favorable ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that could prevent stockbrokers from expunging arbitration information from state records.

Regulators rely on these records when deciding whether to grant a license or take enforcement action against a broker, says Melanie Senter Lubin, Maryland’s securities commissioner.

But consumers rely on this data too. It’s standard advice to investors that they check out brokers’ backgrounds before turning money over to them.

“If these records are purged of adverse information, it won’t be (possible) for us to do our job and for investors to make decisions about the professionals they hire to handle their money,” Lubin says.

The case involves Maryland stockbroker Joseph Karsner and his settlement with Pamela Lothian, a client who claims she lost more than $104,600 after Karsner convinced her to buy unsuitable investments and mismanaged her account. The complaint went to arbitration. But the before the arbitration hearing, the stockbroker and client settled the dispute for $47,000.

The settlement also said that Karsner could expunge this information from his record. A lower court agreed. Maryland regulators appealed.

The recent ruling sends the case back to the lower court and gives the state the right to fight to keep the information on the books.

Maryland’s Attorney General says there are 10 other requests by Karsner to expunge information from his record. All are stayed pending the outcome of this case, regulators say.

Separately, Maryland regulators are pursuing other action against Karsner.

Karsner could not be reached for comment.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

Sometimes you just can’t squeeze everything you want into a column. That happened in yesterday’s column on dividends.

What was left out was research by Michael Goldstein, a finance professor at Babson College in Massachusetts, that gives you one more reason to love dividends.

Dividends are cash payouts to shareholders. Yesterday’s column was about how this is shaping up to be the worst year ever for dividends. Major financial companies are either cutting or suspending their dividend this year. Blame the subprime mortgage mess.

It’s always nice to get cash back. But Goldstein has looked at the numbers from 1970 through 2000 and found that stocks that pay dividends outperform those that don’t. That’s true in both up and down markets.

“In down markets, dividend-paying stocks do way better,” Goldstein says.

In down markets, he says, the total return on dividend-paying stocks averaged nearly 11 percentage points higher than that of non-dividend paying stocks. In up markets, it's more like 4.5 percentage points.

Goldstein is looking at a stock’s total return. That’s any appreciation in the stock’s price plus any dividends paid out. But it’s not just the dividend that causes these stocks to turn in a superior performance, he says.

“I think they are run differently,” he says. There’s a different philosophy at companies that make it a priority to return extra cash to shareholders he says.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

Beware of the instant message stock tip.

Case in point: Alliance Data Systems.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission today, Wall Street trader Paul S. Berliner spread a false rumor last year about Alliance Data Systems through instant messages to other traders and hedge funds. The media picked it up, too.

The SEC says Berliner told people that Blackstone Group, which was buying Alliance late last year, was renegotiating a lower price for the deal because of problems within Alliance.

The negative rumor immediately caused ADS stock to fall 17 percent. The swiftness of the decline led the New York Stock Exchange to step in temporarily halt trading of the stock. ADS came out with a press release denying the rumor.

Berliner, meanwhile, pocketed a $26,129 profit by short-selling the stock, a strategy where an investor makes money if a stock falls.

Berliner didn’t admit or deny the allegations, but he settled the charges against him. He can’t manipulate stocks again, he had to give up his profits with interest and must pay a maximum penalty of $130,000, plus he can no longer associate with a brokerage or dealer.

The lesson here is much broader. There are so many stock tips being circulated online and arriving in e-mail baskets. And there’s a good chance that the person sending them is someone who hopes to profit by you taking the bait.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

Dalbar, a financial services market research firm, recently ranked the Top 5 Web sites for consumers.

The No. 1 site — T. Rowe Price Associates.

Price has many helpful, fun and eye-opening calculators. It’s probably best known for its Retirement Income Calculator. The program takes into account thousands of simulations to give you an idea of your retirement success.

Plug in your age at retirement and how many years you expect to be retired. (In other words, how many years you expect to live.) Then you input your assets, your portfolio mix (how much in stocks, bonds and cash-like investments), how much income you hope your assets will generate, and how much assurance you want that you won’t outlive your money. You can go for 50 percent assurance to 99 percent assurance.

Say, you start retirement at 65 and plan to live another 30 years. You have $250,000 in assets and 80 percent of that is in stocks and 20 percent in bonds. You want a 90 percent chance that

Continue reading "Web sites investors can love" »

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Investments
        

Anyone out there wondering how we got into this mess? By mess, I mean the slowing economy, which might or might not be in recession. Officially, we're not in a recession, as the msnbc story says. But, and this is a big BUT, things are definitely not rosy.

I read a great story in the WPost yesterday about why we've got this mortgage mess on our hands. We're leverage addicts. Writer Michael S. Rosenwald sums it up quite well:

The simple answer, according to personal finance experts, is that we want more -- more money, more house, more car, just more, more, more. We often think we deserve more. Leverage gets us more. With historically low interest rates, leverage is the easiest and quickest tool to get more stuff.

The problem is that too much leverage has a downside that is easy to overlook. When everyone else is using leverage so successfully to get more, do we wonder what will happen if interest rates go up? Not so much.

Continue reading "Borrowing 'til it hurts" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Budgeting, Debt, Investments, Loans, Personal finance
        

I often sit here daydreaming about winning the lottery. I wonder if I'd quit my job? I wonder if I'd buy a fancy new car or a villa in Europe somewhere? When I'm not in la-la land, I actually temper my dreams with reality and figure I'd just invest my winnings wisely so my family and i could retire in comfort.

These days, it's hard not to think about reality. What with the mortgage crisis, soaring energy prices and increasingly expensive food prices, we keep talking about saving for the future and being financially literate enough so that you manage your money wisely.  

In that discussion about saving, Reader Don and I discovered that we are both worriers. We worry about whether we're saving enough for retirement. We worry about whether there will be any Social Security benefits left for us when we retire. We worry about whether we'll ever be able to retire. Don's banking on winning the lottery to lift him out of his worries. Me? I don't even play so i know I'll never win. That means I better have a plan B.

When I asked Don if he's got a plan B, he said: I haven't, and that's the scary part, my 401K has $655 in it, and that'll last me a week of retirement. We are truly the spend now, worry later generation and i am a prime example. I'm starting to think lottery tickets so any advice would be much welcomed!

Continue reading "How to start saving for the future" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Budgeting, How To, Investments, Personal finance
        

If you haven't already read Eileen's very helpful story on how the Fed's three-quarters of a percentage point cut affects you, check it out here.

If you're too lazy to read it, I'll sum up for you.

Credit Cards: Don't count on seeing a lower interest rate.

Home Equity Lines: Expect to see a decrease as early as next month.

Mortgages: No change for fixed-rate mortgages, but maybe for adjustable rate mortgages.

Continue reading "How the Fed interest rate cut affects you" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Credit cards, Debt, Home/Real Estate, Investments, Loans, Personal finance